Always
by sasharox
Summary: This is a story about Katniss and Peeta's life together after the war, so enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**"****Always"**

**Chapter 1**

**This is my first fanfic and it is about Katniss and Peeta's life together after the war, oh and also I'm on winter break so you can expect frequent updates for now. Also I'm just going to say I just decided to write this when it came to me yesterday, and despite one of my hands being almost incapable to type (I accidentally slammed it in a door yesterday and it still really hurts sooo, yeah), I still did it anyways, so I hope you enjoy and please Review! **

**Katniss's POV**

It's been a year and a half since I moved back to 12, and a lot has changed here. Most of the rubble from the bombings has been cleared and replaced with new homes, shops, and even a new hospital and Justice Building. The place is really different now, so different sometimes it doesn't even feel like home, but I like it here. There are no more starving children, dangerous mine jobs, and most importantly, the deep fear of the Capitol that the air in district 12 used to reek of is now gone. A lot of people who used to despise the capitol even like it now that President Paylor was elected and the Hunger Games were canceled.

Today though, I'm not thinking about all of that. In fact, I'm hardly thinking at all. I've hardly slept in the past few days and haven't left my house at all. My nightmares have been really horrible lately so I guess I just decided to stay awake for the rest of my life, but since I haven't slept for so long I always find myself just staring at a wall for an hour or two for entertainment, at least until I snap out of it I guess. I suppose I'm just out of it. Not thinking straight, but when I try, I find myself mindlessly walking across the street to none other than Peeta Mellark's home.

**Peeta's POV **

One moment I'm sitting on my couch reading a book that I picked up from the new book store earlier, and the next thing I know I hear a knock at the door. I hop off the couch to go answer it and find myself dumbfounded when I come face to face with Katniss.

Ever since I moved back to district 12 our relationship has gotten much better. We talk, and take short walks together, and we've even hugged a few times without flinching, but I haven't seen her in about a week and now that I'm staring her straight in the face, I wonder where sees been.

"Hey" she says with no emotion present in her appearance or voice.

"Hi" I say back in almost the same tone. Then I look at her hand, and realize she is holding her bow. '_Why in the world does she have that?' _my subconscious seems to ask. Then I look to her eyes. They have large gray bags under them that almost seem to scream fatigue. _'Ask her what's wrong you idiot!' _my mind tells me.

Finally I respond, "Why do you have your bow Katniss?"

She looks down at her hand and her hand raises up so she can better examine it. The look of confusion on her face is practically telling me that she has no idea why she is holding the bow, and that she doesn't event seem to remember when she picked it up, but instead of that she just says, "Oh, I um, was going to go hunting after I came over I guess."

I can sense she is lying, but it's not hard when I know Katniss so well. I can tell there is something wrong with her. Something up that she is just not telling me. She looks so weak and tired and I just want to help, but she is not letting me. _'ASK HER WHAT'S WRONG!' _my mind yells once again, but all I manage to get out is, "So why did you come over today?"

Katniss looks at me straight in the eye, and opens her mouth as if to say something, but all she manages to do is collapse on my kitchen floor.

**Katniss's POV**

I wake up and look at my surroundings, I'm in Peeta's room, in Peeta's bed. _'Why am I here?' _I wonder_. _But then I feel someone's arm curl around my waist and I turn to come face to face with Peeta. By the look in his beautiful blue eyes, I can tell he's worried, and God knows it probably about me.

"Morning," he says before he yawns. The gears in my mind screech to a stop. _'Did I just sleep with PEETA?!, Wait, did I just sleep through the night without having a nightmare?' _I frantically wonder, but the only thing I hear come out of my mouth is, "What happened?" And at that moment I can see the worry in his eyes deepen.

"You came over to my house, and we talked for a bit, and then you collapsed, remember?" He asks. And at this moment I do remember all of it. Not sleeping for a week, trying to stay awake, walking to Peeta's house, talking with him, fainting on his floor. All of a sudden, a wave of embarrassment comes over me, "I-I'm really sorry Peeta, for putting y-you through all of this," I say shyly.

But then I see the look on his face turn more serious, "No, Katniss. You did nothing wrong, so don't apologize, just tell me what's wrong," he says with more concern in his voice while he cups my face in his strong hands.

"I-I haven't slept in about a week," I say sheepishly, "I've been having horrible nightmares so I just decided that I wasn't going to sleep anymore…" I trail off.

"Katniss," he says with more worry than ever, "you have to take care of yourself, you can't just not sleep anymore." But then a small smile creeps up on his face when he says, "but you know, it didn't seem like you had any nightmares last night.."

"I-I know," I say quietly, "that's because I didn't. I think it was because of you." I say the last line so it's almost not audible, but I can tell Peeta heard what I said. "Um, uh, Peeta?" I ask nervously.

"Yes Katniss?" He asks with all the care in the world.

"W-would you mind if I, I mean, I think it might be a good idea if, um, do you think I could….move in with you…" I ask afraid that he will say no, even though I know that he would never.

"I thought you'd never ask," he says with a huge smile that must be hurting his cheeks by now. "But seriously, I thought I was going to have to go over to your house for every day for the rest of the year just to make sure you were sleeping!" We both laugh at this and then we get up from Peeta's, I mean our bed, and start to walk over to my house to collect my things. Peeta grabs all of the things that I ask him to get from my first floor, and I go to my room to collect everything that I want. I take clothes, my bed sheets and comforter, all of my things from my bathroom, and a photo off of my night stand. It's of my parents, Prim, and me. It was taken a long time ago in front of our old house and it almost brings tears to my eyes when I look at it, but then I'm snapped out of my trance by Peeta who is calling my name, and I just walk down the stairs and join his as we walk out the door of my old home.

**Authors note: I hope you enjoyed my first chapter, I worked really hard on it, and sorry is the writing quality is not great, but this is my first fanfic sooo.. yeh, you're just going to have to deal with it. Please review, I'd love to know what you think, but please don't hate on my story, because again I worked really hard on it. Love you guys.**

**-Sasha**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**Wow, what a quick update! But what I can't believe is that after being posted for 1 hour I already got 1 review and 1 follower! AHH! You guys are AWESOME! So thank all of you for reading and I hope you enjoy chapter 2!**

**Special thanks to **

**Nessa4**

**For giving my first review and follow!**

**You ROCK!**

**Katniss's POV**

When we walk through the doors of my new house, I'm hit by a wave of heat. I guess it is getting pretty cold outside considering it is December, but it's not just that, Peeta's home just has a sense of warmth and love to it, a homey feel I guess. I like it, and I definitely think I'm going to like it here. My old home never really felt like that, especially since my mom left and Prim… passed away. Now a days I try not to think much about my family because I know it will just upset me but sometimes it's hard, but I really think this change of scenery will help out.

Peeta notices that I've zoned out and tries to help me out, "Hey Katniss, I know you're tired from your previous week, so why don't you go take a nap, and I'll work on putting some of your stuff away, ok?"

For some reason I agree. Normally, I wouldn't want anyone going through my stuff, but I am tired, and I trust Peeta, after all we are friends. _'Friends, right, like he wants that Katniss? Have you ever thought about what he wants, tried to be nice to him?' _my mind taunts. But I know that for now, friends is all we are, for now anyway.

"Katniss?" Peeta waves a hand in front of my face after he noticed that I zoned out again. "Did you hear what I said Katniss?" He asks with a look of concern on his face.

"Y-Yeh, I heard, I'll go nap for a little while I guess.." I trail off.

"Alright, come on." He leads me upstairs as if I don't know where my new bedroom is. His home is practically identical to mine so of course I know where it is, and he knows I know that. But he is just being himself. His caring self. So I let him lead me.

Once we're in the room he tucks me in under the sheets and the comforter and tells me to have a nice nap, and that he will try to be quiet while I sleep so that I don't wake up. _'He is the nicest man alive Katniss, and he chose you. He loves you Katniss, and you're still not sure. You don't deserve him Katniss'._ The last part slips out of my mouth as Peeta leaves the room. "You don't deserve him Katniss," I say as quietly as possible. But then Peeta turns around after he notices that I have said something.

"What was that Katniss?" He asks while walking back over to the bed. And out my mouth slips the same words that I said earlier, that my subconscious told me to say, the same words that I know are true, "You don't deserve him Katniss," right before I drift off to sleep.

I wake up and look around the room. _'Oh yeh, I live with Peeta now.' _I remember. I see that Peeta has put away some of my clothes and all of my toiletries and my sheets and comforter, but he has conveniently left out some of my more sentimental objects on the dresser, probably figured I would want to put them out by myself. '_That's Peeta for you, always doing what's in your best interest' _my subconscious reminds me.

After sitting in bed for about five minutes to take in the room, I decide to go down stairs. As I walk, I make sure that my steps are not audible, so that I don't disturb Peeta is he happens to be doing something important. But when I reach the ground floor, I inhale through my nose, and exhale through my mouth and before I even realize I'm speaking I say "Mmm… cheese buns.."

**Peeta's POV**

I open the oven door to insert the cheese buns that I have made for Katniss. I know they're her favorite so I'm sure she'll appreciate them. But then my mind wanders to what Katniss had said before she fell asleep, "_You don't deserve him Katniss." _What does it mean! Who is him, is it me? Why does she think she doesn't deserve me, or whoever "him" is? All of these questions are flooding through my mind when I hear, "Mmm… cheese buns…" and I realize Katniss is standing about 10 feet away from me.

"I-I made them for you, because I know how much you like them..." I say shyly.

"Oh, thanks Peeta, you're too kind," she says as she envelopes me in a warm hug. For a moment I'm shocked. I don't know what to do, but I sense her getting a little worried by my reaction so soon I hold her in my arms as well. She feels warm and I really like that. I've felt kind of alone for some time now and I think I really kind of needed this.

"Um, Peeta," Katniss says, "You can let go of me now." And when she says that I realize that I have been holding her to my body for almost three minutes.

"Oh! Um, sorry, I didn't mean to.." I trail off as I regretfully let go of her.

"It's ok Peeta," she says with a smile. But then I remember that it is not ok, and I remember what she said earlier.

"Katniss," I question her, "what did you mean by 'you don't deserve him Katniss'?" the words come out and then I realize she really doesn't want to answer my question, but I need her to because I need to know.

"Um, well, I just thought that um," she mumbles. I can see tears starting to form in her eyes and I tell her, "You know you can tell me anything Katniss," as I hold her face in my hands.

"This is what I'm talking about Peeta!" She cries as she pushes my hands from her face, "you are so kind to me, and you actually think you love me…" she trails off as tears start to pour down her face.

"But I do love you Katniss, with all my heart," I say sincerely.

"But you shouldn't!" She shouts as she is still sobbing. "You shouldn't love me! I do nothing for you when you do everything you can for me! I'm hardly even nice, and I never think about you, all I think about is me! I'm selfish, rude, and stubborn! How can you love such a terrible person, when she's not even sure if she loves you?"

Then Katniss runs upstairs to our bedroom and slams the door shut and locks it. Even from here, I can still hear her hysterical sobs. I want to help her so badly, but she won't let me, I just know it. But I run up the stairs after her and knock on the door.

"Katniss, please let me in! You're not any of those things you say, and you do deserve me! Please don't talk about yourself the way you did Katniss, because none of it is true! You're the most kind, generous and beautiful girl I know, I need you to know that Katniss."

"Earlier this morning," I start, "when you said you wanted to move in with me, I was overjoyed. Overjoyed because, never in a million years would I have believed that _I_ would deserve _you_. Someone like you, only comes around once in a life time and I thought, well I guess I never thought you would think so badly of yourself, so please Katniss, just open the door..." After my monologue I hear a slight shift in the room and then see the door knob twist slightly as the door opens to reveal a broken down Katniss, covered in tears.

"You really mean that?" She asks shyly.

"Every word," I say as I pull her into me and stroke her hair, "every word."

Katniss looks up at me with shy eyes, "Can we eat cheese buns now? I'm starving!"

"Sure, come on," I say as I lift her off her feet and carry her down the stairs wedding style, but she doesn't seem to mind, all she says is, "Thanks Peeta. Thanks for being you," as she leans her head on my chest.

**Oooo! Dramatic chapter huh? Ah, I do love some good drama… well I hope you guys like my story so far, it seems like at least one of you does, so hopefully more will soon, but I shouldn't complain this is my first story on my first day so according to those standards, you guys ROCK! Well please review if you can and don't be a hater on my story I work really hard on it so yeah! Love you guys!**

**P.S. if you couldn't already guess, I don't own the Hunger Games…**

**-Sasha**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Hi guys! I am really loving this story and all I currently wana do right now is write, probably because I have absolutely nothing else to do! Oh and also I hope you guys like this story as much as I do, I have some plans for future chapters, but I need more, and I would love it if I could get some more feedback. So please review and leave ideas for future chapters in your reviews, okay? Oh and I'm posting a lot because I'm super bored and in the future I most likely won't be posting this often so sorry that I'm kinda spoiling you guys only to make you wait in the future! So without further ado here is chapter 3!**

**Katniss's POV**

When Peeta sets me down in one of the chairs of off the kitchen island, he leaves me wanting more. I never expected to like the feeling of him carrying me around so much that I would miss it when he stopped. '_What is wrong with you Katniss? Focus! You and Peeta are just so posed to be friends!' _I think. '_Unless you want him to be more than just a friend...' _my mind taunts. Maybe I do want Peeta to be more than just my friend… maybe I do… but then Peeta walks over to me with a plate of cheese rolls and sets in on the counter right in front of me.

"I'll get some plates and some glasses of water, okay?" he asks.

"Alright, but hurry, I wana eat these as soon possible," I tease. A smile creeps onto Peeta's lips and then mine, and before we know it we are both laughing at my comment.

Soon he comes back with the plates and water and he sets them down and sits right next to me. I start to put 2 cheese rolls on my plate when I find myself staring straight into Peeta's eyes. The world seems to stop and everything else disappears, my sorrow, my worry, my fear, all of it. The only things that exist right now are Peeta and me. I'm not exactly sure what to do. My mind is telling me to kiss Peeta, but my stomach is telling me to eat cheese buns. After a while of sitting and staring, Peeta makes the first move. He leans toward me and... wipes some dust off of my shoulder, then I look at his with this look that says 'Really? Did you really just do that?'

"What?" He says obviously taking notice to my look.

"Really?" I say with my arms crossed. "What was that?"

"Oh, I see, you were expecting something more like this," he says as he leans in once more and kisses me right on the lips. I'm shocked at first but then, I start to kiss him back and he picks me up and places me on his lap so that we can be closer, and after what seems like an eternity of kissing we finally stop for air.

"So was that what you were looking for Katniss?" he says while panting.

"Definitely," I say while still panting myself. I lean into him and kiss his again, but then we hear a knock at the door. Peeta groans and I smile at him and say "Don't worry, we can finish this later."

Then he smiles at me and leans in so that our lips are almost touching "I'll definitely take you up on that," he says.

**Peeta's POV**

"Don't worry, I'll get it," Katniss says. Then she hops off of my lap and then grabs her glass of water, takes a sip, then takes it with her to answer the door. I listen to the door open and then hear someone say "Oh, hi Katniss." And then I hear the sound of Katniss's glass of water falling to the floor and breaking into a million tiny pieces.

Immediately, I jump from my seat and run toward the door, "KATNISS!" I yell. In those short few moments between Katniss's glass breaking and me arriving at the door a million scenarios run through my mind. What if someone came in and kidnapped her, stabbed her with a knife, punched her, pushed her to the ground? But then I saw him. And at that moment I knew exactly why Katniss dropped her glass because standing in the doorway in front of Katniss was none other than Gale Hawthorne.

I awkwardly step over to them and say, "Oh, um, hello Gale. What brings you back to district 12?" We haven't seen Gale since the war. After it ended he had gotten a job in district 2 and never looked back I guess. But then I look down toward the broken glass and notice that Katniss's feet are surrounded by broken glass. "Katniss," I say slowly.

"What is it Peeta?" she says as her head turns toward mine.

"Don't move," I say as I try to figure out the best way to get her out. Then I slowly pick her up by her waist and place her on the other side of the glass. "Are your feet okay? You didn't step in any glass did you?" I ask protectively.

"No, Peeta, my feet are fine, but thank you for your concern." She says while examining her feet.

Then I look back at Gale. A look of jealousy has come over his face. Is he really jealous of me and Katniss? He and Katniss were friends you'd think he would at least try to look happy for her. But then he reaches over and shakes my hand as he says, "Well I just came to see my favorite mockingjay of course! But it's nice to see you again too Peeta," he says with a fake smile. You'd have to be stupid to not know that he was lying.

Then he leans in and hugs Katniss. I can see she doesn't want to accept his hug but she does anyway just to be courteous.

"Well, um, come on in," she says with another one of those fake smiles. "There are some lovely cheese buns on the counter that Peeta ma-"she starts to say, but then is cut off by Gale. "Is it true?" He asks.

"What? Is what true?" Katniss asks him, not exactly sure what he meant.

"What everyone is saying on television, that you guys are engaged?" He says.

I can see Katniss's face starting to get red, and I can feel mine starting to do the same. As much as I would love to marry Katniss, we're not engaged, and whoever came up with that story must have a wild imagination, because I'm not sure if Katniss will ever agree to that, though I hope she will one day…

"No Gale, we are not engaged, Peeta and I are just," she pauses, not exactly sure if she wants to say the word but then does anyway, "friends, just friends."

"Oh, that's good, well I have to go right now, but I'll be in town for a couple of days so maybe we can hang out later Katniss, well see you later!" He shouts as he runs out the door.

"Oh Good?" I ask Katniss, and she looks to be as confused as I am. Maybe she thinks it's just as rude as I do too. But instead she just shrugs her shoulders and says, "Come on, it's 10 o'clock (pm), lets clean up this broken glass, eat some cheese buns and go to bed." She says in a tired voice.

We do exactly that, and then when we are walking up the stairs, I remember something. "Oh yeah!" I laugh, "I think I'm gonna have to take you up on that offer now," I say while leaning in to kiss her, she meets me half way and we kiss on the stairs for what seems like forever, but then I finally pick her up and carry her to our room. I gently set her on the bed and turn to go close the door, but then I'm stopped by Katniss.

"Peeta, I think that's enough for tonight, besides I'm really tired and all I want to do right now is sleep." She says as she lays down.

"Ok Katniss, let's go to sleep."

**Hope you enjoyed chapter 3, my favorite part was definitely the part when Peeta wipes the dust off of Katniss's shoulder, originally, I wasn't going to do it because I thought it would just be too evil, and then I thought of adding it just as a joke, but the I ended up adding it to add suspense to the story and I think it worked pretty well. So please review and give me some ideas! Love you guys!**

**-Sasha**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**Blah, blah, blah, TO THE STORY!**

**Katniss's POV**

When I wake up, I feel around on the side of the bed closest to the door, Peeta's side, and find that it is empty. I get up and look around the room, in the bathroom and in the hallway, until I finally make my conclusion that Peeta is not here. Just to make sure I go downstairs to look, and end up finding a note on the counter it reads:

_Dear Katniss,_

_I left a little early today for the bakery because I have a big order to fill this morning and I want to get a start on it. There are some left over cheese buns and some blueberry muffins in the fridge for you to eat. If you need anything just call the bakery. 555-3948_

_Love, Peeta_

'_Love' _of course he said love, he does love me after all doesn't he? And I know that, but for some reason that just seems to stick in my mind. I don't know how I feel, truly I don't but I just try to forget for now, because it's breakfast time.

I walk over to the fridge and decide to have a blueberry muffin and a glass of milk for breakfast. So I heat the muffin up in the microwave and pour myself a glass of milk. Then the timer goes off and I go to retrieve my meal. I pull it out and start to eat it over the sink. Some days, I just don't feel like using a plate, and today is one of those days.

After I'm finished I clean up my mess and decide to go take a shower. I walk up the stairs and I am about to enter the bathroom in our bedroom when I hear a knock at the door. "Ugh! What does it take to get dang shower around here!" I yell in frustration.

The person at the door keeps knocking even as I'm walking downstairs, "Ugh, I'm coming! Jeez!" I yell in an annoyed tone.

When I finally make it to the door and fling it open I see that it was Gale who was persistently knocking. "Jeez, Gale, do you think you knocked enough?" I ask so that he can clearly tell I'm annoyed.

"Oh sorry, I just really need to talk to you," he says with a serious look on his face.

"Ok then, come in, we can talk in the living room." I say as a walk him toward my couch.

After we sit down Gale begins, "Katniss, I was so relieved when you told me you weren't engaged to Peeta the other day." He says as he looks straight into my eyes.

"Um, ok? Why was that exactly?" I asked more confused than ever.

"Because Katniss, I still love you!" He says as he smiles and leans toward me for a kiss, but I push him back. "No Gale," I say, "Friends is all we ever can or will be Gale."

"You certainly weren't saying that 2 years ago," he says as he leans toward me, he kind of seems a bit ticked off, maybe because I rebuffed his affections?

"Things were different then, I'm different now," I say as I scoot away from Gale.

"Oh what is it? Baker's boy, hmm? Is that it? You're too in love with that sorry excuse for a man to even think about me, aren't you! AREN'T YOU!" Gale screams.

"Stop it Gale, calm down! You're starting to scare me!" I yell back at him.

"Oh, or is that it? I'm too rough and scary, while baker's boy is all icing flowers? Well you know what? I'm tired of being second to that looser, let's go Katniss, we're leaving!"

"No Gale, I think it's time for _you _to leave. Me on the other hand, I'm staying right where I am." I say firmly.

"Well then if you aren't coming with me voluntarily, then I'll make you go!" He yells as punches me right in the head in an attempt to knock me out. But as quickly as I fell to the floor, I'm back up again and I'm racing down the hallway. I can hear Gale's heavy footsteps behind me, but I'm much faster than he is. As I run down the hallway, I grab the phone out of its holder on the counter and take it with me.

Finally, after what seems like an eternity of running, I reach me destination, a closet at the end of the hall that has a strong inside lock. I run into it and as soon as I lock the door, I can hear Gale pounding on the other side. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM TRUE LOVE KATNISS!" He screams as he frantically pounds on the door.

At this moment I realize I'm still holding the phone in my sweaty hand. I quickly dial the number of the bakery and then hear Gale screaming again "OH! So you're calling HIM for help! Well when he comes then I'm going to kill him! That way you can never be with him, because if I can't have you then NOBODY CAN!"

Gale does make a point, I don't want Peeta to get hurt. I mean I know he is strong and all, but I can't take that chance, and what if Gale is armed? He could stab Peeta with a knife and he could die right then. No. I can't call him. Not even to notify him, because chances are, if I tell him he's going to run straight here without even thinking once about the possible dangers. I mean what would I say anyway? 'Hi Peeta, its Katniss. Gale came over and is trying to kill me, but don't worry I'm just fine!' No way, I have to call someone else, anybody, but who? Then it comes to me. Haymitch.

Great, I think. My savior will be a drunken guy who lives across the street from me. Maybe it would be better for me to call Peeta. No, I can't risk his safety. So it looks like I'm going to be calling the guy who is drunk 99% of the time.

I dial the number, but before I can press call, I hear a loud thud through the door.

**Peeta's POV**

I'm walking down the path into Victor's Village when I hear pounding and screaming coming from the house that Katniss and I share. A wave of fear washes over me, and only one thing is on my mind. Katniss. I rush through the door to find Gale pounding on the door to the closet in the back of the hallway screaming things that seem to be aimed at the closet itself. That must be where she is, I think.

When I had walked into the house, it didn't seem like Gale had noticed that I had arrived, so I took this to my advantage. I slowly close the door so that the home would seem unchanged. I decide that I need to find something to knock Gale out with so I silently make my way to the living room where I go through a few things before I find what I need, a rusty old fireplace tool used to move the hot logs around in a fire. After retrieving my tool I silently creep up behind Gale to hit him with it. Normally it would be hard to walk so quietly with my prosthetic leg and the creaking noise that the floor makes when you walk down the hall, but it is not hard right now, because now I have Gale's pounding to drown out all of the noise I make.

After what seems like forever, I finally make it down the hall and to Gale. But more importantly, to Katniss. I raise up the tool over my head and with one swing of my arms, Gale is lying on the floor passed out, never even knowing what hit him.

"Katniss? Are you in there?" I say gently to the closet.

"P-Peeta? Is that you?" She asks. She sounds really scared so I go to try and open the door right away, but then remember that it's locked. "Yes it's me Katniss, I knocked Gale out with a fireplace tool, please open the door…" I plead.

Then I hear the lock slowly undo itself and see the door slowly open as Katniss peers out to see me. "Peeta," she says sounding really relieved, "Peeta, I-I was so scared, and I was going to call you, really I was, but I didn't want him to hurt you. He said if you came, that he, he would kill you." She sounds more scared then she has ever been. Probably because someone who used to be her friend, who she used to trust, attacked her.

I pull her into my arms immediately. "Shh, Shh, it's ok Katniss, it's going to be alright," I say, then I take her chin in my hand and lift it up so that she is looking directly into my eyes. "Now Katniss, tell me exactly what happened." She looks down for a moment as if she is unsure of herself but then she looks up again and starts to tell me everything about Gale coming over, saying that he loved her, I flinch a little when she says this, and how he hit her in the head, and how she ran from him. I comfort her some more and then I realize that she has a giant bump on her head.

"Katniss!" I say, "This bump is huge, we've got to put some ice on it!" I say protectively. Come on lets go to the kitchen."

"But what about him?" Katniss says as she points toward Gale.

"Alright, thanks officer." I say just as the police are leaving with Gale. When I walk back into the house, I find Katniss sitting in the same spot she was before I went to go talk to the police, but now she has a bag of ice on her head.

"What did they say Peeta?" She anxiously asks.

"Gale is going to spend a few weeks in the jail here and then he is going to be put on trial, honestly I think they could do better than that.." I say under my breath.

"What was that last part?" She asks.

"Oh nothing, it's not important, come on Katniss, let's go to bed."

**I hope you enjoyed this longish chapter, took me a while but I really like how it turned out. I have an awesome idea for the next chapter! Can't wait for you guys to read it, but I'm getting kinda tired because it's getting a little late and my back is really starting to hurt from all of this posture that typing requires so please review and give me ideas for future chapters. Love you guys!**

**-Sasha**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Thank you to my 2****nd**** follower (rpdthatsme) and for all of the views that I have been getting and all of the kind reviews, you guys are AWESOME!**

**TO THE CHAPTER!**

**Katniss's POV**

When I wake up I find myself cuddled as close to Peeta as possible, probably because I'm shivering. So I get up to go close the window but when I arrive at my destination, I find that it is already closed. Could it be that it was never really open? No, I had to have been, or else I wouldn't be this cold. Maybe Peeta felt me shivering at night and closed it for me? I don't know, but whatever the matter, I'm still shivering. So I go downstairs to turn up the thermostat, but again, when I arrive, I find myself dumbfounded by the sight of it. 76 degrees?! Why am I cold when I should be warm! '_Ugh! What is wrong with me?' _I think.

But before I even realize what I'm doing I find myself running back up the stairs and shaking Peeta to wake up. "Peeta, wake up." I find myself sternly saying.

Then only a moment later, Peeta's beautiful blue eyes open to see me shaking him awake. "What is it Katniss? Is something wrong?" he asks.

"Peeta, how do you _feel _right now?" I ask looking for a very specific answer to a very vague question.

"Um, tired? Maybe at little confused by what you're asking?" He says while sitting up. "Care to elaborate?"

"Like, do you feel hot, or cold…. Or anything like that…?" I ask being much more specific now.

"Um, well it is a little warm in here, why?" Peeta asks with a confused look.

"Ugh! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!" I finally shout.

"What do you mean? All I said was it's a little warm in here, that's all."

"No!" I shout in a pouty voice. "It's 76 degrees in here and I'm shivering when I should not be shivering!"

"Well why don't you go take a warm shower, ok? And I'll wait for you, and then you can help me make breakfast, alright?" Peeta says in a really caring tone.

"Okay, I won't be long, I promise." I say, but then he just shakes his head and says back, "Take as long as you need," as he kisses my forehead.

After about a half an hour, I finally decide to get out. Peeta was right, the warm shower did help, and I have to admit, I do feel a lot better now, thought I don't know how long it will last.

When I get out I wrap a towel around my body and walk out of the bathroom door. Peeta is patiently waiting on our bed for me to get out, and when I walk out, his eyes immediately move to the floor.

**Peeta's POV**

"I-I can give you some privacy if you'd like, I'll just stand in the hallwa-," I begins to say but then I am cut off by Katniss. "No, please, please don't leave…" she pleads, probably because of what happened yesterday.

"I won't leave you if you don't want me to Katniss." I say, almost with content.

"Well I um, have to get dressed so just, just turn around." She tells me, and I do as she says.

A few minutes later, and she is ready to go downstairs for breakfast. But when we are going down, I notice she is still shivering. "Katniss? You're still cold?" I ask with worry in my voice.

"Well, I wasn't for a little while but then the chills just came back." She says trying not to make eye contact with me.

"You know Katniss, you might be getting sick…" I say with a little regret in my voice. I know how much Katniss hates being sick because she says she feels so useless and plus sitting in bed all day really isn't her thing.

"No, no, I'm probably fine," she says. Of course she says that now! At the first mention of the word 'sick' Katniss always just automatically dismisses any possibility of her being sick. But I let it go for now because I know if I keep talking about it she will get mad, instead I just suggest that we have some pancakes for breakfast and Katniss agrees.

While working on the pancake batter, I tell Katniss that she can start by putting out some plates, glasses, and some other things like syrup, milk, and butter. She walks out of the kitchen to set the table and the gears in my mind start turning. I have to formulate a plan to help Katniss. '_The second she starts feeling worse,' _I think, '_I'll take her to the doctor's office weather she wants it or not, even if I have to drag her there.' _"That should work," I say out loud without noticing.

"What?" Katniss asks clearly a little confused.

"Oh, I just, I finished the pancake batter, that's all," I lie, but once I say it, Katniss seems to believe it, for now at least.

So I start to pour the batter into the frying pan in little circles, then I add a couple of blueberries to each. And while flipping the first one over, I hear Katniss's quick footsteps against the hard wood floor and then I hear a door slam.

Quickly I turn of the stove so that way, the pancakes don't burn in my absence, and then I run toward the sound of the slammed door.

**Katniss's POV**

I set 2 plates, 2 cups, and the milk and butter on the dining room table in the back of our home. Next, I go to get the syrup from the counter where I left it. I pick it up, and carry it back to the table, but before I set it down, I find myself with the urge to smell the syrup. I haven't had pancakes in such a long time and it would be nice to get a quick refresher on the smell. So I lean in, and waft the scent up to my nose, but when it finally arrives, I suddenly feel sick. So I slam the bottle of syrup on the mahogany table and take off for the bathroom, all while trying to be as quiet as possible, so that way I don't worry Peeta. But as soon as the bathroom door slams behind me, I know he is coming.

I run to the back of the room where the toilet is and then, I lean my head down and vomit. I feel so terrible at this moment then I have in a long time. But before I even know it, I feel someone's hand rubbing my back and pulling back my hair.

"Shh, Shh, Katniss. Don't worry, we'll have you feeling better in no time," Peeta whispers into my hair.

When I finally finish, I feel so weak that I just want to lay down on the floor right here, right now. But Peeta helps me off the floor and over to the sink. "Here, rinse your mouth out and brush your teeth, and I'll be right back, okay?" He says with all the care in the world. I nod my head and just like that he leaves to go get some unknown object. I can just imagine it now, it'll be a giant poster board with the words 'I told you so' on it, even though I know Peeta would _never_ do that, especially since I'm sick. And he did try to warn me of the possibility of sickness but I didn't listen, so technically, he has every right to say that, but I still know it would never happen.

_'__Ugh, sick, I hate that word. Makes me feel so useless and-'_but before I can finish my thought, Peeta returns with a small bottle in his hand. He opens it up and takes out two small pills, and puts them in my hands, then he gives me a glass of water and says, "Here, take these. They're for nausea and headaches, hopefully, they will make you feel a little better."

"Thanks Peeta…" I say right before I down both of the small pills.

"Alright, come on," he says. "You need to lie down, let's take you to the couch."

I nod my head, but when I let go of the counter, my legs fail me and I fall to the ground. Peeta notices right away and picks me up off of the floor, and carries me to the couch. "Sorry," I say. "I guess my legs just don't feel like working right now."

A small smile creeps on to Peeta's lips "it's okay, I don't mind." He says before he gently sets me on the couch and covers me up with a blanket, remembering my earlier chills. Then he kneels down in front of me. "Katniss, you have to take better care of yourself," he says. "If you're sick, then you have to let me know so I can help you, because it kills me when I see you hurt or sick…" he says with a lot of concern in his voice. _'See Katniss, I told you, I told you he cared about you more than anything. Why don't you do something nice for him for once, hmm?' _my subconscious says to me.

"Okay, I will, I'll really will try harder to do that." I say as I look into his eyes. His beautiful blue eyes… but then my subconscious snaps me out of it only to share its opinion '_Really Katniss? That's it? You could do better.' _I sigh at this response, I knew it wouldn't be enough for myself, but I still said it anyways. _'I'll have to dig down deeper'_, I think.

Then Peeta lean down and kisses me on my check, "Good girl."

Then I open my mouth, intending to say one thing but then another thing comes out of mouth without permission, "I love you Peeta."

**Oooo! Sound like Katniss's subconscious is getting a little sassy today! And we've got a bit of a cliff hanger! FYI, I will almost never do cliff hangers in this story because a cliff hanger for you is a cliff hanger for me. I just make up the story as I go, though I do have a few ideas of what I want, but so if I take an abrupt stop, I'm left wondering what will happen just as much as you are so, yeh. Also, sorry if this chapter is a little boring, but I've had this idea for a little while and it's mostly to build off of so that we can get somewhere else later in the story. Well thank you for reading, and please review and give me ideas for later chapters, and please do not hate on my story because I work very hard on it, thank you all, and see you next time my lovely readers! You guys ROCK!**

**-Sasha**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**AHH! I have tons of followers and you guys are the BEST! Oh and I'm just going to say now, I know that the logic is a bit flawed in this chapter, but just go with it ok? There will be an explanation at the bottom. Oh and sorry if there are any mistakes, didn't really have time to proofread!**

**TO THE STORY!**

**Peeta's POV**

"What?" I say immediately. "C-could you repeat that?" I say, thinking that I have heard wrong.

"Peeta," Katniss begins, "I love you."

Katniss. Katniss Everdeen. Katniss Everdeen is in love with me. I let it all sink in. I even pinch myself a little, just to make sure this isn't a dream. But it's not. It's not a dream. This is real!

As soon as it hits me that this is a reality, that Katniss and I am in love, I hug her right away. It's one of those tight hugs when you're just trying to get as close to the other person as possible, one that is almost uncomfortable, but I don't care. And I don't care because I'm the happiest man on the planet, because Katniss loves me!

"Man, I'm never going to get tired of hearing that." I say with a huge smile on my face. Katniss giggles a bit at my remark, and then kisses me on the cheek.

"Hey, I'll just go clean up breakfast and," I start, but then I am cut off by Katniss who says, "No Peeta, you're probably hungry. Don't let me stop you, just go ahead and eat without me, I'll be fine. Besides, I still be here when you're done." She says with a smile, but when she says this my smile disappears, remembering what had happened the previous day. "Don't worry Peeta," she says, as if reading my mind, "it'll never happen again, it was just a freak thing right?" she asks. "And anyway, if something like that did happen, now I have you here to protect me, so I'm sure I'll be safe." She says before bursting into a fit of laughter.

"What is that a joke or something?" I ask wondering about her sudden laughter.

"Well, kind of. Because I mean really, you're worried about leaving me here for what, 15 minutes? Don't you think that's a little over protective?" She asks with a giggle.

"Well, I guess it is a little over the top…" I say sarcastically. "Ok, I'll be back in a little while, try to take a nap while I'm gone okay?" She nods her head a little before she drifts off to sleep. She looks so peaceful in her sleep, so innocent. I hope her dreams are like that too, because, after what she's been through today, bad dreams are the last things she needs.

Then my mind drifts back to breakfast. Pancakes. So I walk over to the kitchen and put two room-temperature pancakes on my plate and take them with me to the dining room at the end of the hallway. One I arrive, I sit down and begin my meal. But soon, my mind begins to drift to other topics.

I figure that I should stay home from work with Katniss for about a week, or at least until her, and my, nerves die down about the Gale thing, and she is feeling a little better. Oh, and of course there is Katniss's sickness to deal with, getting her to go to the doctors with be a challenge in itself, but I figure I can persuade her to go by tomorrow. So I decide that I will call for an appointment later.

Just then I hear Katniss stirring in the other room and realize that I have finished my meal. So I stand up and take my plate to the kitchen and clean it off. Then I look over at Katniss to find that she is still sound asleep. '_Good,' _I think '_She could really use the sleep, being sick and all.' _After I walk away from the side of the couch, I continue to clear the table. I pick up the maple syrup, the butter, and the milk, and then I walk back to the kitchen. I quickly put all of the items back in their places and walk back over to Katniss.

She is still sleeping so I decide to have a quiet afternoon in the living room and sit by her while I read.

After about 30 minutes of non-stop reading, there is a knock at the door. I look over at Katniss and see that she is still sleeping, so I quietly stand up and head for the door. When I finally reach the door, and pry it open, I find myself facing a familiar looking girl, though I still cannot recall the name of this person. She is about 5 foot 4, she has blonde hair and she is wearing a plain blue dress. Then it hits me. I _have _seen this girl before, in fact, I used to see her just about every day when I used to look for Katniss at school. Madge.

"Um, hi," she says in a quiet voice. "I was told that I could find Katniss here."

"Oh, uh, yeh. She is here. Hi, I'm-," I start, but then I am cut off by Madge, "Peeta. I remember you from school. You were that guy who always used to stare at Katniss, right?" She asks.

"Oh, you saw that?" I asked, embarrassed.

"Yeh, I noticed it a lot, but don't worry, I never told her." She says with a smirk.

"Oh, well, um, come on in. But be quiet. Katniss is kind of sick, and she is taking a nap, but I'll get her for you ok?" I say. And then Madge nods her head and enters my house. "I'll be right back." I tell her right before I leave her in the front hall to go retrieve Katniss.

**Katniss's POV**

I wake with a start, and then I open my eyes and quickly dart them around the room, only to find Peeta, standing over me, shaking me to wake me up.

"Katniss, there is someone here to see you," he says gently as he cups one of his hands around my face and then extends the other to help me up.

"Who?" I ask, wondering who could be awaiting me around the corner. But then, just as Peeta helps me off of the couch and opens his mouth to say something, he is cut off by a person who peeks out from behind the corner and calls my name. Madge.

Just like that, I find myself springing to my feet, and trying to run straight to her, this is my best friend that I haven't seen in two years after all. But then I remember that I am still weak, and I fall to my hands and knees. Then, both Peeta and Madge come to my assistance right away. Peeta lifts me up off of the floor, and Madge helps steady me. Then, all at once, my feelings overwhelm me, until I can no longer stand it and I lean towards Madge, and hug her right away.

"I thought you were dead! I thought I was never going to see you again!" I cry, but then I realize that I shouldn't talk like that, because of Madge's family, so I instantly cup my hands over my mouth. "Oh, I-I'm so sorry Madge, I didn't mean to bring that up, what with your family and all…" I drift off.

"It's alright, it's not your fault. Anyways, I heard about what happened to your little sister, and, I'm really sorry Katniss, I know she meant a lot to you." She says back, tears starting to form in her eyes as well.

"I-it's alright" I lie as I look down at my feet, not wanting to think at all of my family. Of Prim. But then another thought comes to mind. '_I thought Madge didn't make it out of the bombing, I never saw her in district 13…'_

"Hey? What happened to you the day of the bombings? I mean, I never did see you in district 13, so I was kind of just left to assume…" I say quietly, almost as if I don't want to hear her answer.

"Well," she began. I could already tell her story was going to be a long one, just by the way she sighed after she said 'well'. "Well, on the day of the bombings, I had left my home to take a walk. When I arrived at the square, I noticed a large group of people headed toward me, they almost seemed like they were coming for me, but then I realized that they were headed for the gates. So I tried to move out of their way, so that I could go home, but then I found myself being pulled into the crowd by a hand. I tried to resist, but it was futile. The hand had a steady grip on my arm and was not letting me go anywhere but toward the crowd's destination. So I finally gave up and just decided to let this crowd carry to where ever it was going, but after a little while, I tripped and fell, and then I felt a foot hit my head as the crowd left me behind. I almost wanted to shout for someone to come back and help me up so that I could continue on with them, but then I remembered that my goal was to go home. So I stood up, but when I did, I felt really disoriented, probably from the blow to the head, and then it all got worse. Everything started to spin in a circle, and I tried to go forward, but just fell to the ground, unable to move. Then after I stayed there for a couple of minutes, I heard large explosions in the distance. I still wasn't sure what was going on so I just disregarded them for the moment. I guess I must have been far enough into the woods to have been missed by the bombs, but I still couldn't move. I laid there for a while longer until I was able to walk, but by then, I was totally confused as on where I was and where to go. So I guess I just aimlessly wandered around the woods for a while until I found this man. He said he was from district 13, which only confused me more, but he also said that he could help me back in his district, so I went with him back to 13. There, I was treated for a minor concussion, and when I told the doctors my story of how I got here, they told me about how district 12 was bombed. But they also told me that there were some survivors, and I was delighted about that. When I told then who my family was, they looked into it and found out that they had died in the bombing, and when they asked me if there was anyone else in district 12 that I was close to, the only name that came to mind was yours. So they sent me here, and I guess that's it…" Madge finishes.

Peeta and I have the same look on our faces. It's a look that says 'what just happened'. Probably the same look that Madge had after district 12 was bombed. I try to make something come out of my mouth. Anything. But the only thing I manage to do is lean forward once again, and hug Madge.

"I'm sorry," I say finally.

**And that's it! I hope you enjoyed it, now here is my explanation. I know that in the book, we are told that Madge is dead. But I really wanted Katniss to have a best friend, I didn't want to just make one up, psychopath Gale was defiantly out of the question, and Madge was the only one who came to mind, so I thought, they don't really know who those dead people were in the mayor's house. One of them could have been an extra servant and Madge could have been missing… So, uh, just don't hate me alright? For ignoring the rules of logic and all that I guess… oh and thank you for all of my new followers, you guys ROCK! I hope you enjoyed chapter 6, I will update soon, and please don't hate on my story because I work very hard on it! Oh and we have hit 10,000 words! Yay! Bye guys, see you next time!**

**-Sasha**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**So excited for this chapter! Have so many ideas, hope you guys like it! It is going to be a long one! Also, sorry if the writing quality isn't the best, this chapter is really long so it might be a little lacking. Oh and please review this chapter and my last chapters because I NEED to know what you guys thought of them so that I know if I'm doing the right sort of thing! Thank you to all of my new followers, you guys ROCK, now, TO THE STORY!**

**Peeta's POV**

"So Katniss," Madge says as she wipes a tear off of her cheek. "Do you think that maybe, I could stay for a little while? Not that long, but just until I get back on my feet. I-I don't want to be rude or anything, so I understand if you say no, but it's just, you're the only one I would know to turn to, and I just wouldn't kno-" she cries as tears begin to once again stream down her face.

"Don't cry Madge," Katniss says while gently wiping the tears from Madge's face. "We'd be happy to have you here, and you can stay for as long as you need, right Peeta?" Katniss asks looking toward me.

"Of course." I say while looking at Katniss and then at Madge. "Any friend of Katniss's is a friend of mine." I say sincerely, while leaving Gale out of course, because I'm pretty sure he and Katniss are no longer friends, and I KNOW he and I were never friends.

"So you guys live together now?" Madge says looking quite amused. "Well, Peeta, I hope you're good to Katniss." She says with a huge smirk on her face, but Katniss on the other hand, her face is as red as a tomato.

"Madge!" Katniss yells right before she whacks her arm.

"What? Don't you want to talk about your new boyfriend?" Madge says now, clearly just trying to playfully tease Katniss, but she ends up making me blush too. _Boyfriend? _Am I really Katniss Everdeen's Boyfriend? Never had I ever thought that one day, I would be able to say that about myself. So quickly I look over at Katniss, to hear her response. To see if it is true.

"Ugh!" Katniss groans. "Madge you are impossible!" Then Madge quickly begins to laugh at Katniss's response. "Come on, I'll show you where the guest room is," Katniss says as she and Madge begin to walk toward the stairs, but before they leave Katniss turns around and says, "Hey, Peeta? Why don't you get something out for Madge to eat, she's probably hungry."

"But what about you, Katniss? You're still sick, I don't want you to start feeling nauseous again." I say making it clear that I am worried about her.

"I'll be fine." Katniss says immediately. "And if I start to feel sick, then I'll just go outside and get some fresh air, I promise. Anyway Madge is our guest and we need to be polite to her, so just do it okay?" she says while looking really tired.

"Alright, I'll do it for you." I say right before I let out a long sigh, and Katniss begins to scale the stairs.

But before I begin to pull some food out for Madge, I hear her and Katniss quietly talking on the stairs, probably thinking that they were far enough away from me so that I would not hear their conversation.

"So are you guys really dating?" Madge asks so it's almost not audible.

"I-I think we are, and actually, I'm happy about it." Katniss then says as I tune out the rest of their conversation because I've already gotten all I needed from it and am now having my own little party in the kitchen. _Katniss Everdeen is my girlfriend! _I think. Currently, this has got to be the best day of my life, the day when Katniss and I became girlfriend and boyfriend! Oh right now, I really just want to kiss her, but I can't do that now, at least not yet. I'll have to save that for tonight.

While having my little party in the kitchen, I accidentally knocked over a pan on the counter and it hit the floor with what was at the moment, the loudest sound ever.

"Peeta?" I hear Katniss yell from upstairs in a concerned voice.

"I'm okay, I just dropped a pan that's all." I shout back. And once I'm certain that she heard me, I begin to warm up some blueberry muffins from the day earlier for Madge.

By the time I'm done, I can hear footsteps coming down the stairs, and then I finally see Katniss walk in to the kitchen, "Hey, Madge will be down in a little while, she's just setting up her things in the guest room." She says to me while pointing at the stairs. But then, I find that I can't even help myself anymore, I just have to kiss Katniss. So I run over to her and pick her up in my arms and start passionately kissing her. She starts kissing me back while she caresses my face with her tiny hands. Then regrettably, I set her back down, knowing that this kiss could not last forever, because Madge was going to come back any minute. But I could see she wanted me, and I'm sure that she could see the want in my eyes as well.

"We can continue this tonight," I say while wildly panting from the kiss.

"I'll defiantly take you up on that," she says as she leans toward me, obviously quoting me from a few nights ago. But then, we both jerk our heads toward the stairs because we can both hear Madge's footsteps on the stairs. So we quickly separate ourselves and stand away from each other as to act as if nothing had just happened.

Then, when Madge finally enters the room, I look at the plate that I had placed on our countertop and motioned her toward the muffins "I got out some blueberry muffins and some milk for you Madge." I say with a small smile.

"Thank you Peeta. You're very kind." She says as she smiles at me.

Then I look over at Katniss to see how she is dealing with the whole 'food' thing, and I see that her face almost looks to be a light shade of green. She has to leave this room before she gets sick again, so I am just about to suggest it to her when she says "Well, I think I'm going to go take a shower, especially after what happened in that guest room," she says with a smile as she and Madge look at each other.

"Katniss, you just took a shower earlier today though," I say with a little confusion in my voice.

"Oh well, when were you last in that guest room Peeta? She asks me.

"Um, I don't know, I don't think I've ever really used it before," I respond, still confused. "Why?"

"Well that explains it!" Madge says right away.

"Yeh, Peeta, while we were in there, I grabbed the bed sheets from the top shelf in the closet, and when I tried to shake them out, I kind of got covered in a pile of dust." She says with a little giggle at the end. "So yeh, I'm going to go take another shower, but just to get rid of all of this dust. So um, I'll be back in a little while, see you guys later."

Then after Katniss leaves, I am about to go as well but then I am stopped by Madge. "You know she's really lucky to have you." She says.

"What?" I ask, not exactly sure what she is talking about.

"I mean Katniss, you know?" she then says as if it's obvious.

"Katniss is lucky to have me? I think it's more like the other way around…" I say while laughing a little at her silly idea.

"You're so nice, and you actually love her for who she is. You're just about all she's got you know?"

"I-I am? No, no, there are others, I mean, like what about you, or Haymitch?" I ask, certain that there has to be more to life for Katniss than just me.

"Nah." Madge says right away. "She doesn't care as much about all of us like she does about you. Doesn't need us as much as she needs you." I sit there for a moment shocked by her words. _Could they really be true? _I wonder. But my thoughts are interrupted by Madge. "So do me a favor, will you?" She asks. "Take good care of Katniss, because she's the only family I've got left."

So we just sit there in silence for a moment until I mindlessly nod my head. "Good." She says. Then Madge pushes out her chair, hops to the floor, and heads upstairs. Probably to take a nap or something because after a minute or so I hear a door open and close, and I hear the creak of the guest bedroom bed.

Once she leaves, I walk over to the back door and stare out at some of the flowers that are growing in our back yard. I watch the bees that are flying around all of the flowers and then landing to get a sip of nectar, and then my mind starts to wander. _Hmm, those bees kind of sound like tracker jackers, _I think, _kind of like the ones that Katniss dropped on me in the first Hunger Games. _And at the thought of that, I remember that I had forgotten to take my medicine for the day, but it is already too late, because I feel a flashback coming on, the first one I've had in a year. I try to fight it, to ward it off, but before I know it I lose control of myself to the point when I have no clue of my actions and I wake up to find myself on top of Katniss on the floor in the hallway.

**Katniss's POV**

After I walk into the bathroom on the first floor, I undress, and get into the shower. I put it on a warm setting, and then I turn it on. I start washing my hair with a lilac scented soap from the capitol, and then I rinse it out and let the warm water and soap run down my body. After I wash my hair, I grab a bath sponge, lather it with some body wash, and begin to wash the dust from the rest of me.

But this time while I'm rinsing, instead of just the steady flow of water, I hear someone arguing. I try to make out the voices I hear. The first one I can defiantly tell is Peeta's, but the second one, sounds like him as well… _is Peeta arguing with himself? _I wonder.

Then it hits me. Peeta didn't take his medicine today. Peeta is having a flashback.

As soon as I realized this, I turn off the water in the shower and get out. I squeeze most of the water from my soaked hair so that it won't drip and then I tightly wrap a small towel around my body and walk out into the hallway to find Peeta and calm him down.

I've had to do this before, so it's not like it will be much different, but the thing that frightens me is the fact that Peeta hasn't had a flashback in a year. This one must be especially bad if it was just able to creep up on him like this.

But all of my thoughts are stopped at an instant when I walk out into the open hallway, because as soon as I do, I find myself being tackled to the ground be none other than Peeta. Before I can stop myself I start yelling at him, even though I know he can't control his actions, "Peeta! What the heck are you doing!" I shout.

**Author's note: Wow Madge must be a sound sleeper!**

Then Peeta looks around at the room with dark eyes as they slowly turn back to their usual blue color. They dart around to observe his location and then they shift to me, trying to take in what had just happened.

"Katniss," he starts slowly. "Why are we on the floor?" And then his eyes once again shift to me. "And why aren't you dressed?" He asks seeming genuinely confused.

"Well Peeta, when I was in the shower, I heard you arguing with yourself and I remembered that you had forgotten to take your pills today. So I figured that you were having a flashback, so I got out of the shower, and when I walked into the hallway, you tackled me." I say slowly so that he doesn't miss any of it.

"Oh my gosh Katniss, I'm such a screw up," he says while he is running his hands through his hair. "Please don't tell me I hurt you."

I have to admit the full impact of him pushing me to the hard wood floor did hurt a little, but I wasn't going to tell him that. I know that Peeta could never live with himself if he knew that he had hurt me. "No Peeta, I'm fine, and besides, none of this is your fault, you can't help the flashbacks." I say while I put one of my hands on his face.

"But it is my fault Katniss! If I had remembered to take my pills, then I wouldn't have lost control!" He yells obviously slightly annoyed with himself.

"Peeta, don't blame yourself, it's nobody's fault," I quickly say as a filler as I search my mind for something to say to cheer him up then I remember something. Something perfect. "Hey Peeta, I'll make a deal with you." I start. "If you just forget about this for now, we can continue what we started in the kitchen." I say seductively remembering the want in his eyes.

Then I see a smile creep onto his face as he gets off of me and picks me off of the floor and places me in his arms. He carries me upstairs and when we enter our room, he gently sets me on the bed and then returns to the door to lock it.

After that he returns to the bed with his shirt already off and he hops on top of me and starts desperately kissing my neck as he works his way up to my mouth. While he does that, I start unbuckling his belt and pulling his jeans down, and by the time they're off, his lips have reached my mouth.

We are both kissing each other like crazy when Peeta deepens the kiss as he starts to undo my towel from my body and his hands start to roam the newly uncovered parts of my body. Then we roll over and I am now on top of him. His hands are caressing my face as his lips work their way down to my chest.

Then all of a sudden, a loud clap of thunder makes me drop and press my naked silhouette against Peeta's out of fear. Then he stops kissing me and starts to comfort me. "It's okay Katniss, it was just some thunder," he coos. But that thunder really got to me. Really made me feel like something bad was going to happen.

"Peeta?" I ask. "Can we go to bed now?"

He immediately sees the fear in my eyes and says, "Sure Katniss. Whatever you want." As he kisses me one last time before I fall asleep on top of him.

**Peeta's POV**

When I wake up, I find Katniss on the other side of the bed with the blanket stretched out on top of her. I yawn, and then I stand up and look at myself. I'm naked. Then I slowly remember the events of last night and smile.

I walk over to the dresser and pull out a pair of boxers, some jeans, and a T-shirt. I start to put them on, and by the time I am finished, I hear Katniss stirring. She sits up and yawns, and just when she is about to get out of bed she looks down at herself and her eyes widen and her cheeks begin to get red. She must just be remembering last night's events as well.

"Oh!" I finally say with the same stupid grin I had on my face when I first remembered last night. "Here, Katniss, I'll get you some clothes." I say as I once again go to the dresser. This time I pull out a bra, some underwear, a pair of jeans, and a green T-shirt. "Here." I say as I hand them to Katniss and she takes them without a word.

Then she finally stands up and crosses her hands over her chest so that I don't see it and she faces the wall as she starts to get dressed. She just about has her jeans on when I start apologizing. "Look, Katniss? I'm really sorry about last night, I guess I just got kind of carried away and-" I start, but then Katniss cuts me off. She doesn't face me, but she says, "No Peeta, don't apologize. Didn't you enjoy last night?" she asks with a little confusion in her voice.

_Did I enjoy it? Of course I did! But the point is you probably didn't, and from now on, you'll consider me as the biggest mistake of your life! _I think.

But beside my thoughts, I decide to answer honestly. "Of course I did Katniss, but you-" I start but then she cuts me off again, this time facing me with her hands still crossed over her chest. "But nothing Peeta. You enjoyed it. I enjoyed it. There's nothing else to it. So don't apologize when you did nothing wrong." She says while keeping a straight face.

But this takes me aback. Katniss _enjoyed _it? And before I even knew what I was saying I respond. "You _enjoyed _having sex with me?" I ask sounding pretty confused. I thought Katniss wasn't ready for that.

"Of course I did Peeta. Because you're you, and I love you. I did tell you that, you know." She says as she tries to hook her bra in the back.

"Here," I say while walking over to her and hooking the bra for her. "You know Katniss, I just didn't think you'd like it, I just didn't know if you were sure if you were ready," I say with a little sadness in my voice.

"Peeta," she says as she slowly turns toward me and grabs my chin so that I have no choice but to look at her. "That was the best night I have ever had."

**Can you say LONGEST CHAPTER EVER! Jeez this is so long, I even considered cutting it into two chapters! Well I hope you liked it, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I would like some more feedback on this story as to whether you guys like it or not. But please don't hate on my story, because I work very hard on it! Thank you guys again for reading, all of you are awesome! I will see you next time my lovely followers, you guys ROCK!**

**-Sasha**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**Thank you guys for all of the immediate reviews, you guys are the best! So let's try to keep that up because I really LOVE reading review, seriously I do, if you write as well then you probably get where I'm coming from. So PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I would love more feedback for my story so let's try to get to a total of at least 6 reviews before the next chapter, okay? (We have 4 already!) Thank you to all of my followers and favorites, you guys ROCK! Now, TO THE STORY!**

**Peeta's POV**

"Y-you really mean that?" I ask shyly looking at the girl that I had just slept with the night before.

"I do, I really do." She says with a sincere smile on her face. "Though, I have to admit, some parts were kind of weird." She says right before she starts to giggle.

"What, like this?" I say before I pull her into me and start kissing her neck until my lips make their way down to Katniss's chest, which I start madly kissing until Katniss pushes me away from her body.

"Yes! Doesn't that seem weird to you? It seems pretty weird to me!" She says before she starts to laugh like crazy.

"I don't know, I think _I _like it." I say seductively as I walk toward her.

"Well, I guess I'll get used to it." She says while rolling her eyes.

"Hey, come on," I then say, while looking at the time. "I've got a breakfast to make, and you've got a breakfast to eat, so put your shirt on so we can go downstairs, okay?"

"Fine." She says before she yet again rolls her eyes at me. After Katniss pulls her T-shirt over her head, we start to walk downstairs toward the kitchen. When we arrive, she sits on one of the chairs that is off of the kitchen island, and I start baking a batch of cheese buns for breakfast.

"So Katniss, how do you feel this morning?" I ask her while kneading the dough in my hands.

"You sound like a doctor or something." She replies.

"You're avoiding the question Katniss…" I say as I turn toward her and start to walk over to where she is sitting. "You know I love you right Katniss?" I say with a little concern in my voice.

"Yes, Peeta, I know. And I love you too, but what does that have to do with any of this?" She asks with a bit of confusion in her voice.

"Katniss, you can tell me anything. You can trust me, because we love each other." I say with so much sincerity, it almost sounds like one of those cheesy moments in a movie.

"Well, um, I still feel kind of nauseous, and I'm still a little chilly I guess." She says while looking at her feet.

"Okay well I'll set up a doctor's appointment for later today, and we can go after I come home from work." I say before I start my rant about how Katniss is going whether she likes it or not. But then she cuts me off.

"Okay." She says simply.

"Now Katniss, I don't care I if you want to go, the point it, wait what?" I say wondering if I have just heard Katniss wrong or what.

"I know you're just going to fight with me about this until you make me go, so I just figured I'd skip the hassle this time and just go straight to the 'okay'" She says right before she lets out a long sigh. "But I'd better be getting something out of this!" She yells while pointing her index finger in my face.

"Don't worry, you will." I assure her before I kiss her forehead and walk back to the oven to pull out the cheese buns. And as soon as I open the oven, the smell of them fills the room, and I quickly turn to see if Katniss is feeling alright and I notice that she is just starring off into space with a blank expression on her face.

**Authors note: How 'bout that rhyme though? It's like this is poetry or something!**

"Hey, you feeling alright Katniss?" I ask her and she snaps out of her trance with just enough time to hear what I have said.

"Yeh, I'm fine." She says quietly.

"Okay just as long as you're sure. Well, um, why don't you go get Madge, breakfast is ready." I say while trying to change the subject.

"Alright." She says as she exits the room without a hint of emotion.

When Katniss leaves, I suddenly remember that I have to take my medicine for the day, so I walk over to the cabinet that is above the canisters on the counter that hold flour and sugar, and I open it. Inside the small cabinet is a mess of bottles full of all different kinds of medications. I grab the bottle right in front and twist open the cap and take out a small round pill, then I grab a glass from the shelf above and fill it with water from the tap. I then swallow the small pill and set the glass on the counter. And when I'm just about to close the cabinet, something catches my eye. The little bottle full of medication that helps with nausea, the one that I had Katniss use just a little while ago. So I decide that it is probably best if Katniss takes some of this, just to be safe, you know, in case she feels like she is going to throw up again. So I set two of the small pills by Katniss's plate and put a glass of water by them.

Then Katniss and Madge come into the kitchen and sit down in the first two chairs that are off of the island, Madge at the first and Katniss at the second. Then Katniss notices the pills that I have set out for her and pops them into her mouth before swallowing them with a gulp of water.

I walk over to the oven and take the pan of cooled cheese buns from the stove top and place them before Madge and Katniss right before I say "Breakfast is served," and taking the seat next to Katniss.

I eat quickly, because I know that if I'm to make it to work on time, I'll have to hurry. Technically though, I can show up to work whenever I please because I do own the bakery, but we are so posed to open soon, and I should really be there for that. So after I've finished shoveling my breakfast into my mouth, I stand up, put my plate in the dishwasher, and walk back over to Katniss to say goodbye.

"See you after work Katniss," I say as I kiss her forehead. "Love you."

"Love you too." She says back quickly as I begin to walk toward the door.

"See you later Madge, hope you girls have a nice day." I say before I exit.

"Bye!" Madge says in a friendly tone right I close the door behind me.

**Katniss's POV**

"Aww!" Madge says immediately after Peeta has gone. "You two are so cute together!"

Madge and I were never really the girls to be talking about things like boys, but now things are different. Now, I have Peeta, so now, Madge, being my best friend, is probably going to tease me nonstop about it. So instead of just denying it, I decide to fan the flames.

I sigh and say, "I know, isn't he adorable?" With a smirk on my face.

"No, both of you are! You two are so perfect for each other, I just can't stand it! Plus, I heard you two in your room last night. You're not exactly quiet you know." She says with a huge grin on her face.

"Oh, you heard that?" I say as I feel my cheeks begin to redden, obviously, I'm embarrassed. But who wouldn't be embarrassed if their best friend had just told them that she had heard you having sex with your boyfriend!

"Yes! Don't be embarrassed though Katniss, you two are meant to do this! Fall in love and live happily ever after!" Madge says with a squeal.

"So, you must have had a lot of time to come up with that conclusion." I say in a sarcastic tone.

"Yeh, sure Katniss, lots." She says with a sarcastic tone as well. "As if it isn't obvious! Okay, come on now, spill it. How was it?" She then says with a lot of intent to find out how I felt. And I try to formulate the perfect answer in my head, to come up with one word that describes sleeping with Peeta, until one comes to mind.

"Perfect." I say while a huge smile spreads across my face.

"Aww!" She yells once again. "This is perfect Katniss, don't you see? It's happening! You're falling in love! You and Peeta can get married and have kids and…" She continues until I cut her off.

"Woah! Calm down! I certainly don't know where you're getting that crazy idea from, but it certainly isn't happening anytime soon!" I say in all seriousness.

"Oh Katniss, don't tell me it's that guy _Gale_…" She says as she rolls her eyes.

"What?" I ask, as if I don't know what she is talking about.

"Oh come on Katniss, everyone in district twelve knew he liked you, but you never really liked him like that, right?" She asks just to make sure that we are on the same page.

"Madge, I'm sorry, can we please not talk about him?" I ask quietly.

"Why?" She asks sounding confused. Then I tell her everything. Everything that happened with Gale, and how Peeta knocked him out, and how afraid I was. And she immediately stops.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Katniss, I didn't mean to talk about any of those bad memories." She says sincerely.

"It's alright, you didn't know. Let's just not talk about him anymore." I say slowly.

"Alright." She replies. "But seriously, you've got to keep me updated!" She then says, changing the topic, and as I can assume, she means Peeta.

"Fine!" I finally say, just knowing that this fight would have gone on forever if I didn't agree. "You are so lucky you are my best friend!" I then say back at her.

Then we just laugh. We spend the rest of the day catching up on each other's lives, until Peeta finally comes home.

**I hope you enjoyed chapter 8, I have already written chapter 9, but I am saving it for tomorrow so look for that tomorrow and I want to thank all of you for reading my story, please review it, but please don't hate on it because I work very hard on it! Also sorry if this chapter is kind of boring, but it is leading up to something in chapter 9 and in chapter 10! Oh and happy New Year! Until next time.**

**-Sasha**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**Blah, Blah, Blah, TO THE STORY!**

**Peeta's POV**

When I step through the door I see that Katniss and Madge have not even left the spots that they were in when I left for work. Immediately, they both turn their heads toward me, and I motion for Katniss to come over.

"Hey, if we want to be on time for your appointment Katniss, we're going to have to leave now." I shout down the hallway.

"Okay, I'm coming." She then says as she walks to the closet next to me and puts on a pair of boots and a jacket. "You ready?" She asks me.

"Yeh, come on, let's get going." I say leading her out the door.

"See you Madge!" She yells down the hall right before we leave.

I turn to Katniss right away, as we begin to walk toward the hospital. "So how was your day?" I ask her.

"Fine." She replies.

"What did you and Madge talk about?"

"Stuff." She says with no emotion.

"What kind of stuff?" I ask, even though I am probably beginning to annoy her.

"Girl stuff." She says with content.

"Oh, so you're not going to tell me about that are you?" I ask her while a smile starts to grow on my face. Even if I don't get to hear about it, I'm glad that Katniss finally has someone to talk about 'girl stuff' with, because if it were just me and her, I don't know who she would tell all of that to.

"Nope." She then says in my face right before she begins to laugh.

I love talking with Katniss like this.

When we arrive at the hospital, we are greeted by a woman at the front desk who asks for the name of the patient, even though I'm sure she knows exactly who we are, she is probably just following protocol. So Katniss replies with her name and then the secretary confirms our appointment and gives us some sheets to fill out.

Once Katniss finishes the papers, we sit in the waiting room until the doctor arrives and calls Katniss back.

"Katniss Everdeen." She says with a calm voice. And at the sound of her name, both Katniss and I perk up and head toward the door that the doctor had previously came out of.

When we get to the examination room, I sit in a chair to the side, and Katniss sits on the large table at the back of the room, cringing at the sound of the crinkling paper.

Then the doctor enters with a bright smile on her face. "Hi Katniss, I'm Dr. Barnett." She says as she shakes Katniss's hand and then mine. "So I hear you haven't been feeling very well lately, why don't you tell me about that."

**Authors Note: I didn't make up Dr. Barnett, ****_he _****is my orthodontist. **

And at that moment Katniss looks straight at me, and I nod at her, as if to say '_Katniss, tell them the truth, tell them the truth so that they can help you.' _And she seems to understand my nod because then she looks to the Dr. Barnett and begins to tell her her symptoms.

Then when the doctor walks over to Katniss to do a couple of tests, she reaches her hand across the table for mine, so I lift my hand up and place it in hers, and then she squeezes my hand tightly for comfort.

When the doctor is done, she leaves the room for a little while, leaving Katniss and me by ourselves. We don't say anything though, because I can just tell that Katniss does not currently want to talk.

But when the doctor renters the room, both Katniss and I sit up to hear her diagnosis.

"Well Katniss, it seems like you've got a case of the flu, so I want you to take it easy for a week or two and take these pills." She says as she hands Katniss a small bottle that is filled with little white pills. "Take two a day, one at night, and one in the morning, and Mr. Mellark, I assume that you'll see to it that Ms. Everdeen sticks to my orders?" She then says looking at me.

"Yes, I'll make sure Katniss does just that." I say as I now look at the doctor.

"Good, now that that's settled, you are free to go!" She says with a smile. "And remember, if the sickness hasn't gotten better in two weeks, call us back, and we'll come up with another solution. Bye now!" She then tells us as we exit the room. I wave at her with my left hand and I place my right arm around Katniss's shoulders.

"Come on, let's head home." I whisper into Katniss's hair as we exit the hospital, and she just responds by leaning her head on my shoulder.

When we get home, we find that Madge is no longer downstairs. I figure that she is probably in her room, it is 8:30 and it's getting pretty dark outside after all. So Katniss and I head upstairs and when we enter our room we both, almost simultaneously, say "I have to take a shower" and Katniss ends a little 'sooo' onto the end of hers until we both just start to laugh.

"Come on," I finally say. "There's no reason we can't take a shower together." And Katniss grins at this idea as I pull her into the bathroom and close the door behind us.

Then as soon as the door is closed, Katniss and I undress and decide on a warm setting for the shower. We get in, and after standing in the shower for a few minutes, Katniss begins to wash her hair, and after getting her hands covered in suds, she reaches forward and taps me on the nose to leave a small pile of bubbles on it. Then we both start laughing like crazy and I almost fall over in the process, but Katniss catches me.

After that I turn, and begin to wash my hair as well. And after rinsing all of the suds from my hair, I realize that Katniss has been really quiet for a while so I turn around to see what she's doing, and when I do, I see a really tired Katniss looking at me, washing her body.

"Hey, are you alright Katniss?" I ask with concern in my voice.

"Peeta, I-." She says right before she collapses onto the shower floor.

I react immediately. "KATNISS!" I scream as I drop to the floor to try to get her up. "Katniss, Katniss? Please, speak to me! Tell me you're okay, please I need to know what's wrong!" I yell while shaking her naked body to try and wake her. "Oh, God, Katniss!" I say while trying to keep myself sane. "God, I really don't want this to come to drastic measures, but…" I say to myself as I look down at her motionless body. I start to pick her up off of the floor when Katniss's eyes begin to flutter open.

"P-Peeta?" She asks weakly.

"Yes, yes Katniss, it's me, Peeta. Oh my God Katniss, I was so afraid! Don't ever do that to me again!" I say as I pull her tightly to my body. "What happened to you?" I then ask with worry.

"I-I don't know, I just felt really weak and I just collapsed I guess…" she says really quietly.

"Oh Katniss, I thought I was going to lose you! Please, please, please tell me when something is wrong with you Katniss, because I just need to know! So we can prevent something like this from happening!" I say in a stern voice while still tightly hugging Katniss. "Do you think you can stand?" I then ask her.

"Yeh, I think I'll be alright." She says as I help her off of the floor of the shower. "So, um, what exactly were those drastic measures you were talking about Peeta?" She then asks referring to what I had previously said to her while she was still lying on the floor.

"Well I was either going to take you to the hospital," I say first. Really that was all I had in mind, but I add a little something else in there, just because. "Or I was going to do something like this." I tell her as I pull her into me and start kissing her neck and letting my lips make their way down to Katniss's chest, where I start madly kissing her. Then I take my lips off of Katniss and stare at her with content. But what is in her eyes is not content. It's hunger. Hunger for me.

"Why would you do that?" She asks innocently as she traces circles on my chest.

"Because I know you don't like it." I respond.

Then she looks up at me. "Well, I think I like the second choice much better than the first one." She then says as she stands on her tip toes and starts kissing me like crazy. And after a moment, I start kissing her back, and my lips are yet again, making their way to Katniss's chest. When they make it there Katniss gasps, but then continues kissing me, even harder this time.

Finally, I take my lips off of Katniss's body. "Katniss," I say while wildly panting from all of the kissing. "I think it's time that we go to bed."

"I can think of a better use for that bed." She then says seductively, again moving towards me.

"I bet you can Katniss, and you know I would love to join you, but you remember what the doctor said, you need to take it east, okay? Especially after that fall just now, and Katniss, I'm pretty sure having sex isn't considered taking it easy." I tell her.

"Fine." She says in an angry voice.

"Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time for that later." I say with a big smile, because I'm amused by how mad Katniss is because I said we couldn't have sex tonight. "Come on, let's get out."

We get out of the shower and I wrap Katniss up in a large white towel, and then I wrap myself in one as well. Then we exit the bathroom and I start getting dressed, and by the time I'm done, I notice that Katniss is still sitting on our bed, wrapped in the same towel that I put her in. Like she's waiting for something.

"Come on," I say to her. "Let's get you dressed." I tell her as I pick her up and carry her to the dresser. Honestly, I love these moments, there aren't a lot of them because Katniss is usually stubborn and always wants to do everything on her own, but when I do get to experience one of these nice moments where I get to help her do everything, I just love it.

I undo the towel from Katniss's body and begin to dress her. I put her in her undergarments and then I put a T-shirt on her and a pair of sweatpants to sleep in.

"There." I say, satisfied with my work. Then I lead Katniss over to the bed and tuck her in under the sheets. Then after I kiss her forehead and say good night to her, I am about to turn around to pick up the towels off of the floor when Katniss grabs my wrist and makes me turn around.

"Stay with me?" She asks.

"Always."

**What a beautiful ending to a nice long chapter, though of course, it can't last forever. If you are reading this, then you are probably on chapter nine. Chapter 8 used to be both 8 and 9 but then it got way to long so I split it into 2 chapters. So I hope you enjoyed this and PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW! I really need more feedback so I really need you guys to help me out with that! Tell me what you think! Thank you to all of my lovely followers and favorites, you guys ROCK! Until next time!**

**-Sasha**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**Sorry I didn't update for a while I have been working hard for my finals and I have a new class coming up that is so posed to be really hard so I've also been really busy mentally preparing myself for that. Without further ado, TO THE STORY!**

**Peeta's POV**

I wake up at about six thirty in the morning with my arms still wrapped safely around Katniss. My hands rest right around her mid-section and I can feel the gentle rise and fall of her stomach. Still sound asleep. Then I feel her begin to shiver in my arms and I wrap her tightly in them, in an attempt to warm her. Sadly, it was a failed attempt seeing how Katniss is still shivering, so I untangle my limbs from her body and slowly rise from the bed.

I try to make my way over to the open window without making a sound, so that way I won't wake Katniss. I know she doesn't always sleep this well and so I hope that she can get as much sleep as possible.

But when I reach the window, my jaw drops at the sight in front of me, and the reason for Katniss's cold body. Outside of the window is a complete white out. The entire village is covered in a thick blanket of snow that must be at least a foot deep.

"What?" A voice says from behind me nearly making me jump out of my skin. I turn quickly to see Katniss sitting up in bed looking at me with a confused look.

"Come here." I then say motioning her towards the now closed window. She stands up and walks over toward my spot in the room and her eyes widen at the sight.

"It must have snowed all night." She said without removing her eyes from the outside world.

I then grab Katniss by her shoulders and turn her toward me so that she has no choice but to face me. "Hey, are you feeling okay today?" I then say, referring to the night before. Katniss's fall last night had me really worried and I needed to know if she was okay.

"Yeah, I think so." She then says looking at her feet, obviously wanting to avoid the subject, but honestly, that is all I currently want to talk about.

"Katniss..." I then say softly while stroking her cheek, but she pulls away from my touch.

"Peeta, I'm not helpless! I can do things by myself, you don't need to treat me like a weakling and help me do everything!"

"Katniss, I know you're not helpless, and you're not a weakling, you're the strongest person I know! And you never need help but the thing is I _want _to help you because I love taking care of you almost as much as I love you. And I'm just trying to help Kat, so please, please, don't shut me out."

She was staring intently at me with anger in her grey Seam eyes, but then all of her anger fades away into shame as she stares at the floor.

"Hey, it's okay to let people help you sometimes," I then gently tell her, hoping to put her shame to rest.

Katniss tilts her chin up and looks over me, as if making an inspection, and the she quietly speaks. "Okay."

"That's my girl." I then say as I lean my head over and kiss her full, pink lips. It's not a kiss full of hunger, or longing, but one that shows her just how much I love her.

About 20 minutes later, Katniss and I are walking downstairs together for breakfast. I leave her at the chairs off of the counter and she sits down with her elbows on the counter.

I then move my eyes from her and begin to pull out some dough that I had previously made from a cloth covered bowl. I begin to shape the dough into individual balls while placing them on a pan and adding some cheese to each. Then by the time the oven has finished heating itself up, I am ready to put the bread in, so I slip on an oven mitt and place the tray on the top rack. Only then am I taken out of my baking trance by the sound of Katniss's soft voice.

"What are we going to do today?" She asks right before she yawns and stretches her arms above her head.

"What do you mean?" I ask, still slightly oblivious to what she means.

"We can't leave. You saw what it looked like out there." She says as I remember the monstrous pile of snow outside.

"Well, actually, I have some errands I have to run." I say trying to cover up my true intentions. If I have to leave the house today to pick _that _up then she can't know. She can't know at all until the right time.

"What! Are you kidding! Peeta, you can't go out in _that_!" She almost shouts while pointing in the direction of the front door.

Quickly, I come up with a lie that I hope will be enough to deceive Katniss. "I promised Haymitch that I would pick something up for him _today, _and since I promised, I find it only fair that I stick to it." I lie, hoping that she cannot see through my ruse.

"What could possibly be so important that you need to go out there to get it?! I'm sure Haymitch would understand if you didn't you know?!" She asks the last question I was prepared to answer so I just lie again hoping that she doesn't catch on.

"Haymitch said it would be better if I didn't tell anyone what it is until I actually get it."

"So Haymitch wants you to go out in a foot of snow for some unknown object that you can't even tell me about?!"

"Katniss... I have to go," I then say, believing that this may be my only chance to get away from Katniss, without her coming along, so that I can get what I need.

"No, Peeta! You don't!" she says forcefully. "Just stay here… with me…" She coos softly says as she strokes my chest with her head pressed up against it. _She's doing it again. She's doing that thing when she makes it impossible for me to say no to her, but I can't fall for it this time. _

"I just have to Kat, okay?"

"No, it's not okay, okay? You just keep telling me that and you won't actually get to the point! Why do you have to go Peeta? Why?" She pleads with me. She is so irresistible, that I almost spill everything, but I know that I have to stay strong because I can't tell her why.

"I-I… I can't tell you…" I say with guilt in my voice as I begin to look at my feet. I feel so bad about all of this but I just can't tell her, not yet.

All of a sudden, all of the sweetness that Katniss once had has disappeared and she pushes me away from her. "Well, you know what?! If you can't tell me, then why don't you just get out?!" She yells at me as she pushes me some more. Soon, she's pushed me all the way to the foyer and is shoving a coat, a hat, some gloves and a pair of boots in my hands.

Katniss stands next to me as she impatiently taps her foot while I'm quickly dressing for the weather. And as soon as I'm even close to done, she pushes me out the door and into the snow, telling me to 'just get out'. And when I turn to see her before I have to leave I see that she wears a hurt look on her face as she offers one last phrase to me before she slams the door.

"You know Peeta, I really thought you loved me." She says with all of the disappointment in the world before the loud sound of the door being slammed is echoing through the village.

_You know Peeta, I really thought you loved me. _

The sound of Katniss's hurt voice rings through my ears a million times before I rise, and begin to make my trek through the falling snow toward my destination.

**Katniss's POV**

The sound of the slammed door is still ringing in my ears as I make my way back to the kitchen, until I realize that my ears are not ringing, it is the oven timer, signaling that breakfast is done that is ringing. So I drag myself over to the oven and fling it open and pull it out with an oven mitt. Then I throw the tray on top of the stove, making the cheese buns hop from their places on the tray and fall back onto it, in an unorganized mess. I can't even stand to look at them right now, because they just remind me of him. _I can't think about him right now, it will just make me angry and then upset, and then I'll just fall apart all over again. _I remind myself.

When I moved into Peeta's house, the goal was for him to help me, for him to put me back together. Which he did, but now that I trusted him again, it's like he just took a sledge hammer to my heart, and now I'm left here to piece it back together.

When he said he loved me, I thought that meant that he trusted me, that he could tell me anything. But I guess I was wrong, he must not love me at all, not that I can blame him. Who would want to be with someone as messed up as me anyway? But what really got to me was the fact that he just so easily broke me without any thought to it. I guess I know what he must have felt like after I told him that our love was fake after we returned from our first games, if his love was even real back then. But now, I was so sure that it was, and I guess it is not.

Just then, I hear footsteps thumping down the stairs until I see Madge peek around the corner to see me sitting at the counter with my head in my hands.

"Katniss, are you okay? Where's Peeta?" She asks me while she walks towards me placing her hand on my back.

"He's gone Madge! He's gone! He just left me for some stupid reason and I just pushed him out the door!" I cry as my sobs begin to become hysterical.

"What, Katniss?! There's a blizzard out there! It's not safe for anyone to be outside today!" Madge then informs me in a stern voice and I feel myself perk up at those words. _Not safe. Peeta could be in danger! _

"What?!" I ask in a shocked voice as I come up from my sobs. "Oh my gosh, Madge, we have to go get him!" I yell as I hop off of my seat and run towards the door, not even looking to see if she has decided to follow me. Then when I arrive, I fling the door open to reveal a world of white. The snow is coming down so hard that if someone were out there, then they wouldn't even be able to see two feet ahead of them.

"Katniss, no!" Madge yells at me as she runs ahead of me and closes the door, blocking my path. "You can't go out there! We just have to hope that Peeta found some shelter and is okay, alright?" Madge says in a calming tone.

I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding and then tell her okay.

We sit in front of the fire for what seems like forever, until we hear a knock on the door. Immediately, my mind goes to Peeta. About how bad I feel about pushing him out there, about how awful I must be for not even being patient with him, and about how I even doubted his love for me.

So I shoot up from my place on the floor and make a break for the door. When I get there I yank it open and I am surprised by what I see: a tightly bundled up Haymitch who is covered in snow. I guess I haven't seen him in a while, so maybe that was why I was surprised? Whatever the matter, he doesn't take long to get tired of my starring daze.

"Jeez sweetheart, could you stop gawking for a minute so you can let me in?" He says as he pushes me aside and walk into the house. "It's not like it's cold out there or anything. So, where's lover boy?" he then asks which brings my anger to the forefront of my mind. He made Peeta go out there in the storm. He made Peeta do all of this. This is his fault.

"Don't play dumb with me! I know how you sent him out in that!" I say as I point toward the front door, just like I had earlier in that same day. "How could you do that!? What is so important that he had to go out today of all days!?" I then yell at him while I shove my finger into his chest in an act of accusation.

"What are you talking about?! I did no such thing!" He then yells back at me.

"But Peeta told me…" I trail off beginning to wonder how much of what Peeta told me is actually true.

"Well whatever that boy told you is a lie! I didn't do anything, besides, if what you told me is correct then we've got much bigger problems that that! If he is out in that, then…"

"We have to go out there!" I say with urgency in my voice. "We can't just let him freeze!"

"No, whatever that boy has got himself into is his own problem." He then says with absolutely no emotion in his voice.

"Then if you're not going to help, then go home!" I yell at him as I push him towards the door.

"Fine sweetheart, I'll go, but just don't make this situation worse than it already is." Haymitch says to me as he stands on the front porch of my house.

"Just… if you see anything, call me okay?" I then ask and with one quick nod of his head, Haymitch is off into the storm, left to stumble across the street to his house.

"I really don't think it was necessary to kick him out like that you know?" Says a voice from behind me and then I realize that the voice belongs to Madge.

"I-I just don't want to see anyone right now okay?" I say as I turn to face her.

"Okay, you don't have to if you don't want to, but that still doesn't change the fact that you can't go out there! It's just not safe Katniss." She says as she guides me back over to the fireplace.

"You-you sound like Peeta," I manage to get out before I fall into a sobbing mess on the floor.

"Don't worry Katniss, he'll come back, you just see." Madge tries to comfort me, but it is in vain because nothing can make me calm down when there is still a chance that Peeta could freeze out there.

Madge and I spend what seems like forever siting on the floor in my living room, while I weep, and she comforts. But about an hour and a half in, we hear the door fling open and loud pounding sounds coming from the front hall. I jump from my spot on the floor and run to the front door. And when I do, I see a snow covered Peeta walking into our house.

"Peeta!" I scream as I run towards him and leap into his arms. I begin kissing various places on his cheek over and over again until he responds.

"H-hey K-Kat…" He says into my hair as he shivers and shakes like there's no tomorrow.

"Peeta, you're freezing!" I say as I let go of him and look over him. "And you need to get out of those clothes, they're covered in snow!" I say before I begin to take off all of his winter clothes and cast them aside.

"Peeta, you had me worried sick! I thought I was never going to see you again! I-I didn't know what to think…" I trail off as sobs once again begin to rack my body.

"Shh, Shh, I'm here Katniss. I'm okay, we're all safe. I'm not going anywhere, ever again." Peeta coos as he holds me tightly to his freezing cold body.

"We need to warm you up! Come on, we have a fire going." I say as I walk Peeta over to the fireplace. As we enter the room Madge waves to us and leaves to go to bed to give us some alone time. And once she is gone, I start talking right away.

"Peeta, I'm so sorry. I pushed you out and I should have never let you leave!"

"Katniss, it's not your fault, it wasn't your idea."

"Yes, but I let you leave, I should have tried harder!"

"No Katniss, if you want to blame anyone, you should blame me."

"I know you lied Peeta, Haymitch told me. But why, why would you lie to me? I thought since you loved me, you could tell me anything…" I drift off not wanting to continue.

"Katniss… I do love you, I love you more than my own life. That's why I had to go out, to get this." He then says as he pulls a small box out of his pocket.

"Um, Kat-Katniss will um, would you…"He sounds and looks very nervous, like he doesn't even know what to say. I can't imagine what it is that Peeta is trying to say that could possibly reduce his silver tongue into a pile of nothing but whatever it is, it must be big.

"What is it Peeta? What do you need?" I then say as I cup his face in my hands.

Then all of a sudden Peeta gets down on one knee in front of me and opens up the small box to reveal a ring with a pearl on it. The same pearl that he game to me on the beach during the Quarter Quell. I gasp at its beauty and hold my hands over my mouth because I know what comes next.

"Katniss, I have loved you since we were five. Ever since then I had only seen you from a distance, and you seemed to only be a dream that would always elude me. I, never in a million years thought that we would be here, but after going through all that we have together, I just know that I am making the right choice. I have always loved you and now that I know you love me too, this just seems right. So, Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?"

**I hope you enjoyed chapter 10! Yay now we have 20 k+ words! That is awesome and I hope you liked it! Sorry for the cliff hanger, but I will probably update soon anyway so… thank you for all of the favorites and follows! You guys ROCK! But PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE REVIEW MY STORY! I really NEED more feedback, oh and just because I'm evil, until I get at least 3 new reviews, I won't update, so yeah! Oh and please, if you do review, don't hate on my story, because I work very hard on it! Love you guys!**

**-Sasha**


	11. Chapter 11 M RATED!

**Chapter 11**

**M RATED CHAPTER!**

**READER DISCRETION ADVISED!**

**LEMONS INCLUDED!**

**IF THIS IS NOT YOUR THING THEN READ UNTIL YOU SEE THIS: 88888888888888888888888**

**AND THEN STOP, OKAY? WE DON"T WANT ANY COMPLAINTS ABOUT NOT WANTING TO READ CERTAIN CONTENT!**

**YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!**

**I'm back! Thanks for the reviews, and I don't know if this is a quick update or not though because I am writing this the day after I posted chapter 10, and am still waiting for 2 more reviews so yeah! Also I hope you are enjoying this and I want to thank all of my followers and favorites, you guys ROCK! Now… TO THE STORY! **

**Oh PS: I don't own the HUNGER GAMES!**

**_Last time in Always chapter 10:_**

_"__Katniss, I have loved you since we were five. Ever since then I had only seen you from a distance, and you seemed to only be a dream that would always elude me. I, never in a million years thought that we would be here, but after going through all that we have together, I just know that I am making the right choice. I have always loved you and now that I know you love me too, this just seems right. So, Katniss Everdeen, will you marry me?_"

**Peeta's POV**

I sit there on the floor, on one knee, with so much anticipation that I might just explode. I just asked Katniss Everdeen, to marry me, and I still can't believe it myself. Katniss Everdeen, the most beautiful and wonderful girl in the world, could be my fiancé, my wife.

But then, all of my wishful thinking turns to guilt and sorrow when Katniss moves her hands from their place over her mouth, to her eyes as she starts to cry. Immediately, I react by getting up off of the floor and going right to her side. _I told you this was too early! _My mind admonishes me.

"Oh, Katniss, I-I'm so sorry. I knew this was too early, but I just did it anyway, and I don't know why but-"I start to say but then I am cut off by Katniss, who lunges toward me and then throws her arms around my neck.

"Yes! Peeta, yes!" She says in between kisses. "I'll marry you!"

I just stand there for a minutes because I'm not exactly sure what to do. I let her answer sink in for a second and then it hits me. I am going to marry Katniss Everdeen. So as soon as that comes to mind, I grab Katniss by her waist and twirl her around the room a few times while we are both laughing like giddy children, until I trip over my own feet and fall backwards with Katniss on top of me.

"I love you Katniss. I love you so much. I always have, and I always will." I say while I hold her tightly to my chest.

"I love you too Peeta, and I can't live without you. I need you." She says with a look of desire in her eyes that I'm sure is being mirrored in my eyes as well. I don't think I have ever wanted her more that right now.

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"Hey, how about we um, take this to the bedroom," she then says seductively while getting up off of me and holding out a hand to help me up.

"That sounds good to me," I say as she helps me off of the floor and she begins to lead me upstairs. We walk painfully slow up the stairs until we finally make it to our room.

When we enter, I turn and lock the door, I don't want anyone interrupting this perfect moment. Then I see Katniss sitting on the bed with a nervous look on her face.

"Hey Kat, if you don't want to do this, we don't have to you know?" I say as I walk over to her and cup her cheek with my hand.

"No, I do want to…" she trails off.

"Um, Katniss, when we um, did this last time, I uh know that was your first time, but did it um, hurt?"

"No, I um, it didn't, because we never got to uh, _that_, you know." She then says as her face begins to turn red from the subject.

"Oh, yeah, that. I guess we didn't do _that_. Well, um, do you… want to?" I ask her as I feel my face also begin to turn the color of a tomato. But Katniss and I just sit there in silence for a moment while she constantly looks from me to the floor.

"Look, I get it if you don't, we can wait and-"I start to say, almost a little disappointed, but then Katniss cuts me off.

"Do it." She says plainly.

"And I- wait, what?"

"Let's do it Peeta. I want you, I need you, and I know you feel the same way, so let's do it." She says while she reaches out and holds my hand.

After that, I turn my mind off, and I lean in and start fiercely kissing Katniss. She catches on she too begins to kiss back. I take her lower lip in my mouth, and move my tongue along the crease between her lips, begging for entry. She allows it and soon our tongues meet, and dance together in our mouths. I feel Katniss digging her hands into my hair and so I back her up towards the bed until she is pressed up against the side of it. Then, I move my hands from her face to her hips and they begin to work their way up her shirt until I've got it all the way off of her.

She too, starts to do this, as her hands roam the plains of my chest under my shirt, and I help her take it off of me and cast it aside. Then she begins to leave a trail of kisses all the way down my chest and around the waist band of my pants until she pulls them down from my hips to reveal a pair of blue boxers. I moan softly as she does this and then I slide my fingers inside of her pants, and pull them off to add them to the growing pile of clothing on the floor.

After that I push Katniss onto the bed and start to frantically kiss her neck. I trail kisses all the way down it until I get to her collar bone. Then I quickly try to remove her bra to satisfy my current need to touch her _everywhere. _Once it's finally off, I lift my head up and gaze at her to take in how beautiful she is, all while she has her mouth all over my hips as she slowly starts to inch my boxers down my legs.

"Kat… Oh!" I yell as she finally moves her mouth to a spot right between my legs.

I then dive back in to meet Katniss. I know I have to be gentle because Katniss and I have not really done this much before, but right now, all that I am aware of is my hunger for her and my need to touch her. So I move my lips to the valley between Katniss's breasts and begin to kiss her there until my mouth has climbed to the top of her right breast and I take her nipple into my mouth.

Katniss gasps as soon as I do this. "Peeta! Oh, Peeta!" She shouts, probably not even caring that people can probably hear.

I begin to lick and suck and I do everything to her breast that is possible, while I rest my hand on its identical twin. Soon, I switch spots and move my mouth to her other breast as I duplicate my previous actions while letting my hands touch and squeeze her other tit.

After a while I decide to yet again change my spot and I trail kisses down her stomach lower and lower. Finally I reach her underwear, that is already moist and warm, and I practically rip them off of her body as I spread her thighs and dive in. I start to lick and suck and kiss everywhere I can, while sucking up some of the moisture that was still present. Katniss moans and moans and begins to yell my name.

"Peeta, oh! Give it to me Peeta! Give it to me! Oh!" She yells as she continues to caress the area between my legs. I know what this means. I know what she is asking for.

"Are you sure Kat?" I then ask her in a quiet whisper.

"YES! Do it Peeta! Oh!" She practically screams as she arches her back. And when she does this, I see the perfect opportunity to start, so I thrust my hips onto hers and slowly start to enter her until I'm all the way in. _There's no going back now. _I think. Katniss then lets out a low moan and starts to yet again scream my name.

"Do you like that? Do you like this?" I say as I remove myself from her and quickly thrust my hips into hers again, jamming myself into her.

"OH! Yes, Peeta! Give me MORE!" She yells as she arches her back, giving me better access to that space between her thighs that I now love so much. So I pull away from her to renter again and again, when I hear a pop. The wetness around Katniss's thighs becomes immense as she starts to yell at me.

"OH! Peeta, oh! I need you in me right now!" She yells while the look of hunger on her face intensifies, and I know she is telling the truth.

"Hold on!" I tell her as I jump from the bed and grab a towel from the bathroom. When I return I quickly clean her off, and go back to my previous motions.

"Ohh! Peeta, go! Harder!" Katniss then yells while letting out a low moan.

I follow her wishes and start to thrust my hips unto hers as I enter her harder and faster than ever before. She is now screaming and shouting my name out of pleasure and I feel myself doing the same every time I thrust myself onto her.

"Kat… Katniss, oh!"

She continues to shout and I begin to worry that when we wake up, the world will have already heard, so I try to quite her down, but with no avail. So while I continue to thrust myself onto her, I take one of her breasts in my mouth, and that defiantly quiets her down.

Finally, I thrust myself onto Katniss one last time before I collapse on top of her out of exhaustion. My face falls into the valley between her breasts and I just lay there on top of Katniss while she whispers my name and kisses the side of my face.

"Peeta, oh Peeta…"

I roll us over, so that way she is on top of me, also so I don't crush her if I were to fall asleep. I pull Katniss's naked body as close to me as possible, with one of my hands around her waist, and one on her thigh. I move my hand around and begin to rub the small of her back.

"Oh Kat, I love you so much, I love you so much I can't even keep myself off of you." I whisper into her hair.

"Who said I wanted you off of me Peeta?" She asks me in a seductive voice that makes her sound so sexy.

"I don't know, but if somebody did say that, then I don't care."

And with that we both fall asleep in each other's arms.

**Thank you for reading chapter 11, I hope you enjoyed! I know Katniss and Peeta did, ha, ha! But anyways, if you could please review, that would be awesome! I want to thank all of my favorites and followers, you guys ROCK! And again, if you do review, please don't hate, because I work very hard on my story! Thank you, all of you, for reading and I hope you like it! See you guys next time! (Which will probably be in a little while because I have exams.) I love you guys!**

**-Sasha**


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